


One Day

by AvengersCompound (emilyevanston)



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Human Disaster Clint Barton, Hurt Bucky Barnes, M/M, Protective Clint Barton, WinterHawk Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23038129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyevanston/pseuds/AvengersCompound
Summary: When Bucky’s depression hits so hard he can’t even get out of bed, Clint takes over for him.Square filled:I2 Bucky learns about the future
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 14
Kudos: 126
Collections: Winterhawk Bingo





	One Day

Bucky was struggling to move. He knew there were things to do. Not even counting the list of responsibilities he had with his own projects, Avengers business, and the fact he’d basically just gone from being a weapon of the Russian government to one of the US in exchange for not spending the rest of what would be a very long life locked up in the raft, there were all those regular human things that had to happen, like feed the cat, and take out the trash, and get the fuck out of bed and stop wallowing in his own filth.

He knew it. He just couldn’t make it happen and each time he tried his body seemed to give him the proverbial middle finger and he’d somehow end up buried deeper down in his best of weighted blankets.

He heard the front door open and he wondered which blond had come by to try and convince him to get out of bed, his best friend or his boyfriend. He supposed it could be Sharon too but both she and Sam announced themselves loudly like they were worried he might accidentally go winter soldier on them.

Alpine climbed off the pile of blankets and jumped down to the floor, yowling loudly. That meant it was Clint. She had no particular feelings either way about Steve. She’d sit on his lap and let him pet her if he was visiting, but Clint fed her sausage and bits of bacon off his pizza so she associates him with people-food.

In way of confirmation, the bedroom door opened and a big yellow mutt came sniffing around the bed while Alpine darted out the door. “Yeah, yeah, I’m doing it,” he heard Clint say over the loud and demanding meows of his cat. A moment later Lucky pushed his head under the blankets and stuck his cold nose on Bucky’s back. He flinched and jerked away before rolling over and starting to absentmindedly stroke the dog’s head.

Clint came into the room a little while later. He didn’t say anything, which was quite frankly a surprise. He expected a lecture about responsibility and people relying on him. But maybe that was because he was used to it being Steve that came by when he was in these funks. Instead, Clint moved around Bucky’s room in silence as he gathered up his dirty clothes around the room. Which was even more surprising given Bucky knew exactly what kind of pigsty Clint lived in.

The urge to question Clint was strong but the energy to do it was low. Clint disappeared again but this time he wasn’t gone very long and when he returned he climbed up in the bed with Bucky and spooned him.

“I loaded the dishwasher, fed the cat, took out the trash, and put on a load of laundry. So you don’t have to beat yourself up about any of that, okay?” Clint said, gently as he pressed his weight onto Bucky.

The weight of his boyfriend was comforting. Everything he wanted but couldn’t quite achieve with his weighted blankets. He felt safe and calm with Clint pressed on him and he burrowed down under him more.

“Now, I bet you’re thinking, ‘Why, Clint? You don’t even do that at your own place’. Which is rude, Buck. I do. I just wait until things have piled up so much I have to go out in last year’s Halloween costume and then I do it,” Clint explained. Bucky laughed. Well almost. It was more a small puff of air, but it came from the same place laughter would when he wasn’t feeling so miserable. And if he had the energy he would tell Clint how much it meant to him that he was able to do that right now because of Clint’s stupid joke. “But you and I both know you’d do the same for me. Shit, you have done the same for me. Plenty of times. And I know you like your place clean. So now it is. And you don’t have to worry.”

Bucky tapped his finger on Clint’s hand. One long press for T. Then long, sort, long, long for Y. Clint chuckled softly and rolled on top of Bucky more. “Non-verbal?” He said, gently. “Don’t worry, I can talk enough for both of us.”

Bucky let out a breath. A sigh that was both thankful but unbelieving. He wasn’t worth it, and he knew Clint. Clint wasn’t good at this kind of thing.

“Oh, I know that sound. I’ve made that sound,” Clint said, kissing Bucky on the pulse point under his ear. “You don’t think you’re worth it. Well, let me tell you something, Buck. One day, we’re not going to be such complete disasters. Or maybe we will be, but we’ll say fuck it, disasters deserve to be happy too. And I’m gonna marry you. And I’m gonna say out loud the thing that I already feel. For better or for worse. And right now it’s a for worse and that’s okay. Because I’m gonna love you through it and when you come out the other side maybe it will be my turn for you to love me through mine. But I’m not going anywhere. We’re gonna move in with each other. And get a few more pets. We’re gonna adopt some disaster kids too. Because that’s who we are. And one day we’re gonna both be really happy at the same time. And then the times when we feel like how you feel now will get further apart and people are gonna say; ‘Look at those two happy idiots’.”

Bucky took a shuddering breath in. For a second he thought like he was going to cry. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d actually cried. Men didn’t cry when he grew up and since escaping HYDRA the extreme emotions were alien to him. There was more a numbness when he got too happy or too sad. But here he was, his eyes glistening with tears. “I love you,” he whispered. It was very quiet - so quiet he wasn’t even sure Clint would be able to hear it. His voice was raspy from a lack of use and he wasn’t sure he had the energy to say it again even if he did feel it with every part of himself.

“I know. I love you too,” Clint said, gently. “Now, if you think you can do it, I’ll run a bath and wash your hair and then that’s one more thing that got done today. If not, we can just stay here too.”

Bucky nodded a little and slowly began to crawl out from under the loving and comforting weight that was Clint Barton.


End file.
